HOUSTON – The General Manager for the Houston Dynamo announced that the club is releasing three of its coaches in the middle of the season.
According to a statement provided by GM Pat Onstad, the three coaches, Paulo Nagamura, Jimmy Nielson, and Chris Martinez, were let go Tuesday.
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“This was a difficult decision. Paulo, Jimmy, and Chris are good people and true professionals who worked tirelessly for the club. When faced with a difficult decision, we return to our values to provide guidance. In this case, our results this season are far below our expectations, and I felt we needed a new coaching staff to move the club forward,” the statement read.
Nagamura was the team’s head coach, while Nielson and Martinez acted as assistants in the club.
Onstad says they did not want to wait until the end of the season to make the changes, and that the formal search for new staff is underway.
In the meantime, Kenny Bundy, Dynamo 2 Head Coach, will act as interim head coach for the first team for the next five games.
The Dynamo’s next game is Sept. 10 against Kansas City.
Read the full statement below:
“Dynamo faithful,
It’s important that you hear directly from me about this week’s announcement. When I was hired, I emphasized the need to improve the culture of the club. We worked with the staff, players and coaches over the course of the past nine months to formulate four key values: Team First, Pursuit of Excellence, Accountability and Respect. T
his was a difficult decision. Paulo, Jimmy, and Chris are good people and true professionals who worked tirelessly for the club. When faced with a difficult decision, we return to our values to provide guidance. In this case, our results this season are far below our expectations, and I felt we needed a new coaching staff to move the club forward.
Let me be clear: I take responsibility for our current record. It’s not just on the coaches. It’s not on previous regimes. We need to be better, and it starts with me. We will begin to make changes for next season immediately. We have already begun a formal coaching search, which we wanted to conduct in an open and transparent manner, and we did not want to wait until the end of the season.
While today’s letter is about the coaching change, I will speak more about the improvements that we are putting in place for next season in the coming weeks.
For the next five games, Kenny Bundy will act as interim head coach for the first team. Kenny is a talented up-and-coming coach who has been developed in our club and most recently led Houston Dynamo 2 to a playoff berth in MLS NEXT Pro. He has our full support. Make no mistake, the remaining five games are important. These matches are opportunities for all members of the club to demonstrate their commitment to our values. I appreciate your continued support and I will keep you posted on our progress.
Sincerely,
Pat Onstad”